Kawakami: San Francisco 49ers taking aim at Seattle Seahawks rematch

Are Colin Kaepernick, Greg Roman, NaVorro Bowman, Eric Reid and the rest of the 49ers ready for the big sprint to the Seattle rematch?

It looks that way. Really does look that way.

That's what every 49ers moment is about now, even when they're playing Jacksonville in a soggy stadium far, far away from Candlestick Park (and far from where I was watching on TV).

That's what the 2013 regular season is all about now -- Dec. 8 at Candlestick, when the NFC West (and a postseason bye) probably will be won.

That's what the 49ers have regained for themselves after their dodgy 1-2 start this season, including a wipeout, franchise-shaking loss in Seattle in Week 2.

San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore (21) points upwards after a two-yard touchdown run during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium, London, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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Matt Dunham
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And that's the only significant way to judge the 49ers' 42-10 clinical squashing of the winless Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Sure, the victory also was the 49ers' fifth in a row, to bring them to 6-2 at the halfway point, and it leads them quite comfortably into their bye week.

The light competition Sunday essentially sets up a transcontinental double bye before the 49ers resume Nov. 10 at home against Carolina.

But we all know where all thoughts, plots and strategies lead.

The 49ers will be measured -- and measure themselves -- against Seattle on Dec. 8, and the chance to make sure they don't have to play a postseason game back in CenturyLink Field.

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There are other key 49ers games, of course, most notably Nov. 17 in New Orleans; but none of the others come close to the Seattle significance.

Based on that barometer, the 49ers succeeded in almost every way Sunday, even factoring in the low, low level of competition.

First and most important, Kaepernick continued to look refreshed and explosive, which all gives further credence to the supposition that his foot injury was a major issue in the early part of the season but that it's mostly healed now.

Kaepernick threw for a score and rushed for two others, both involving hard cuts and sprinter's acceleration.

This was the Kaepernick of 2012 ... and a guy the 49ers hadn't seen for most of 2013, and now he gets the bye week and many weeks to prepare for the Seahawks' attacking defense.

Meanwhile, after many weeks of basic vanilla play-calls, Roman, the 49ers offensive coordinator, put several new wrinkles into Sunday's game plan.

Maybe it was partly to tweak Jacksonville general manager Dave Caldwell -- Roman's old college buddy who didn't interview Roman for the Jaguars' coaching vacancy last winter.

Or maybe it was done to start opening up the 49ers playbook.

But for whatever reasons, the 49ers' offensive scheme Sunday was a mini-revelation.

For instance, Roman put fullback Bruce Miller out wide on the first series, and he was left uncovered for a huge gain.

Plus, Kaepernick was given all kinds of great run sets, and the 49ers receivers ran fancy combination patterns and were open all over the field.

The sophistication was hardly necessary against Jacksonville, but Roman put it all on tape -- and now Seattle has to figure out how to deal with it.

And meanwhile, the 49ers offense has Frank Gore and Vernon Davis going strong and will get Mario Manningham and Michael Crabtree back soon.

Finally, the 49ers defense continued to put the clamps on opponents -- and as a bonus got plenty of rest for veterans Justin Smith and Ray McDonald.

This area is tougher to judge because the Jaguars offense is so bad, because the 49ers gave up some yards during the garbage-time second half and because the 49ers didn't get much overt pressure on quarterback Chad Henne.

But Bowman and Patrick Willis dominated the middle, Reid was fantastic again, and Dan Skuta picked up the fourth-quarter fumble forced by Willis and ran it in for the game's final TD.

All in all, it was another very crisp 49ers performance, and another step up from the depths of their 1-2 start.

It took a lot of work to get them to this point, with Seattle still able to stay a game ahead if it beats St. Louis on Monday.

But now the 49ers are here, starting the big ramp-up to Dec. 8, Seattle, and probably the balance of NFC power.